Surgeon General Satcher Says U.S. Committed
To Strong Global Treaty To Curb Tobacco

Geneva, October 12, 2000

A U.S. negotiating team that is heading to a World Health Organization treaty-making conference will be paying special attention to global policies regarding tobacco advertising, second-hand smoke, smuggling and tobacco use by youth, according to Surgeon General David Satcher. "We are committed to working on a treaty that is strong and that will ultimately reduce tobacco use around the world," Satcher said.

He made the remarks as members of the U.S. delegation, representing the Departments of Health and Human Services, State, Treasury and Agriculture, prepared to depart for Geneva to negotiate the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.

"We are going to work to significantly restrict advertisements - especially those directed toward children on a global basis," Satcher said. "We are going to seek ways to protect non-smokers from second-hand smoke. We are going to work to ensure that illegal cigarette smuggling is stopped. And we are going to help prevent children from smoking.

"Each of these treaty elements plays a critical role in the fight against the life threatening and addictive effects of tobacco use," Satcher said.

Deputy Assistant Secretary for Health Tom Novotny, who is leading the U.S. delegation in Geneva, said the United States' objectives would be consistent with domestic policy goals. "Our government has advocated strong policies to decrease children's access to tobacco, increase the price of tobacco, regulate tobacco products, reduce exposure of non-smokers to secondhand smoke and hold the tobacco industry accountable for its behavior against the public interest," Novotny said. "As an international leader in tobacco control, we are prepared to negotiate a strong agreement among nations to take coordinated, effective steps to drastically improve global health by decreasing tobacco use," he added.

In a hearing before the Senate Commerce Committee last week, the Surgeon General noted that "Worldwide, smoking-related deaths will rise to 10 million per year by 2030, with 7 million of these deaths occurring in developing countries." Satcher emphasized that the United States was committed to working closely with other countries and the World Health Organization, to create an effective framework to curb the global epidemic of tobacco-related disease.